Best Tips for Getting Better and Stronger

Hey, all you experience riders! Share your most helpful tip(s) to help me get better.

I have some ideas. For instance, I've mapped a 1.6 mile "sprint" loop with a challenging hill and a rocky downhill. Today I measured my times for a few laps, and I plan to spend a couple of days a week racing myself.

I'm looking into arranging to invite a coach to lead a skills clinic in my area next summer.

My top two:
1. Ride with people who are faster than you and chase them. Don't sweat getting gapped. Don't put your expectations in keeping up or being able to see every line choice or whatever. Just try, push yeourself, and take encouragement from the moments you can stay on someone's wheel, or notice that they have just barely gotten their breath back at the end of a trail segment (and haven't been waiting for you for ever). It feels good!

2. 'Cross-train'. I started as a vanilla XC/trail rider. Then I did some gravity events in a beginner category for collegiate racing (if you're going to go to a race weekend, you may as well race everything), and sucked pretty hard. So I started skill building with a purpose. Began at the local beginner-intermediate dirt jump park, and then racing BMX (on my mountain bike, incidentally). Very fast and very sharp rise in mountain bike skills followed. Bike parks and gated racing allow for a degree of repetition you could almost never get solely trail-riding or XC racing. But the skills/conditioning gained are useful on the trail.

This is one I learned about years ago when working on climbing technique.

When climbing a steep section to increase traction at the rear wheel; creep forward on the nose of your saddle and apply a constant "pulling up" force on the handle bars.
This will apply a pushing down force on the rear wheel creating more traction.
So; it's a good idea to work on upper body strength training in the off season. ;-)

If it's personal goals as a self motivator, I can't think of a better way to map ones progress. The results will be a combination of increased skill and increased strength/stamina. Thrown together in a pot, all good!
As a beginning rider I can't compare with the guys I'll be riding with, that would be unrealistic. Unquantifiable fun is also a major goal

Ride more is right. If you dislike uphills for cardio reasons ride more hills. If downhill scares you or your technique isn't there yet concentrate on that. Challenge yourself every ride, in the end you will be better off.

People that avoid certain terrains or challenges never get better. Don't be afraid to crash.

I think the OP was looking for specific "tips" on what riders do in situations other than vague tips like "ride more".
You can ride more but what good does that do if you are riding incorrectly? Doesn't that work out to ridden less? ;-)

Edited to delete my lame-o personal goals. This should be a more universally helpful thread. I know some of you guys are holding out your most useful tips. Thanks to those willing to divulge.

No, no, no. Put your personal goals. For example: "I want to race and the beginner class winners' times are about three minutes faster than me."

Or

"When I ride with my friends, they are always waiting on me."

Or

"I'm riding for fitness and I want to lose 10 pounds."

Or

I ride by myself and don't have any context of what a "good" rider could do on the trails I ride.

First: Regardless of your goal, if you want to go faster, get a heart rate monitor. Find your resting, target and max heart rate. Keeping in your target zone will help you be faster. Use the heart rate monitor to do intervals.

Second: If you live next to a trail, ride it. If you don't, ride on the road if it is safe. It will wear out your knobbies, so get some slicks to ride during the week and swap back when you hit the trail. You get a reliable road bike if you must ride on the road often.

Third: increase your distance. Sprints are good, but being in the saddle at target heart rate for two, three, four or more hours will do wonders for your speed. Most people dilly dolly for an hour once a week. If you only have an hour a week and can only do one 10 mile lap, use that as your baseline and improve on it.

No, YOU don't understand. You're making an ass of yourself for all of eternity.

I won't pretend to be an expert but I do know that the old adage "ride more" is mostly bunk advice, though riding more is of course part of the equation. I have known lots of people who put in ungodly miles every day, year in and year out and are slow as snot.

Dedicate some of your time towards improving your pedaling efficiency. If you can stay smooth (no bobbing!) at 120 rpm you'll be pure silk at 80. Increasing your usable rpm range is a definite advantage IMO.

Don't go hard all the time. Incorporate rest days where you put in some good miles without elevating your heart rate too much, your muscles need time to recover from hard efforts.

I like intervals, but I usually think of them in terms of a couple of minutes rather than a couple of miles. Go all out until you're convinced you are about to chuck part of a lung and then ride easy for awhile until your heart rate recovers to a reasonable level, and then before you get too comfortable repeat the process. Try 10 or 12 reps of this. It can aide (eventually) in your heart rate recovery, which is key to getting faster.

Don't take my, or anyone else's advice on a forum too seriously. Do your homework. A good coach can be invaluable.

Get yourself a SingleSpeed...will make you a stronger rider, teaches you to pick cleaner lines, works your cardio and entire body at the same time while saving you $$$$.$$ on upgrades that won't add up to much in the long run. IMHO

Find technical challenges and keep trying different techniques until you clean them. Stamina can be apart of this, so keep building it. If you don't clean it get off and try again, and again. So many folks give an tech section one shot, then push.

Learn to look way ahead and not right in front of you. This makes a huge difference.

Brake before turns not so much in them.

Get tires you can trust and only change one thing at a time with your bike set up.

Hey, all you experience riders! Share your most helpful tip(s) to help me get better.

I have some ideas. For instance, I've mapped a 1.6 mile "sprint" loop with a challenging hill and a rocky downhill. Today I measured my times for a few laps, and I plan to spend a couple of days a week racing myself.

I'm looking into arranging to invite a coach to lead a skills clinic in my area next summer.

All advice welcome

PixieChik - kudos to you for wanting to improve your strength and get better on the bike.

Periodization is the universal way to train and improve your "on the bike performance". Combined with skill improvement (cornering, braking, balance, clearing obstacles, etc...) it will lead to you getting better and being a stronger rider.

For most of us living in a 'continental climate', now begins the off-season time of working on some things in the gym (periodized weight training plan) and preparing ourselves for building a nice cycling base for 2013. I would suggest looking at the XC Racing and Training forum and reading through the master training thread sticky at the top of the forum list.

If your trails are still able to be ridden, take a look at some basic cornering techniques that you can work on this fall/winter to help groove a solid technique for next year. I've been riding for a long time, but have been spending time really refining and working on my cornering technique this fall. For me, it's been a process of "unlearning" and teaching my muscles and mind a new and better way to rail the corners. It's taken a good 6 weeks to finally let go of my old way and accept the new and better way. So even we old dogs can learn new tricks if we identify a weakness and focus on improving.

Working on climbing and descending also makes you "better and stronger". It sounds like your "loop" has a nice climb and descent built into it - so do a Google search on mountain bike climbing and descending to watch some videos of techniques and try to work those techniques into your skill set should net you some improvement. Your idea of "racing yourself" on the same loop on a consistent (weekly) basis is indeed a good one. I recommend you continue to do that and use it as a benchmark. Keep in mind that weather, soil conditions, your mood and your form for the day can all lead to variations in lap time(s).

Focus on the rest and recovery cycle of training so you spend a lot of time going easy between the hard efforts. It's hard to accept spending so much time recovering and going easy - but it really is the way to allow your body to bounce back and be stronger due to the growth by following the training effect. Your idea of bringing in a skills clinic teacher in is a good one. We have seen a recent increase in numbers here in Iowa of women XC riders/racers thanks to organized skill clinics such as this. This was the 5th year of that event. You can also sign up to go to "mountain biking camp" where you will work with a coaching staff to develop your skills and identify specific things you can work on to improve your riding.

The good news is it sounds like you are having fun and want to improve. Kudos for that attitude and all the best in your riding. I think a lot of things you are seeking have already been written and are out there in terms of tips. I was just trying to point you to some of the places you might find them.

I am definitely not an expert but here are a few tips that I can share:

1. Purchase and use a bike computer, Garmin or good phone app to keep track of your progress. Garmins have something called "virtual partner" that allows you to compete against yourself in real time. I believe virtual partner is the best way to get into "biking" shape because it can really provide that push to ride just a little bit harder.

2. Learn to pedal around 80-100RPM. This is arguably considered the most efficient range. Some bike computers, including most Garmins, have cadence sensors that will display your cadence in real time.

3. Practice being proactive versus reactive with your shifting.

4. You can learn to manual. I have only ridden for 3 years now and I am just now starting to learn this trick. Here is a good website with videos.

Get yourself a SingleSpeed...will make you a stronger rider, teaches you to pick cleaner lines, works your cardio and entire body at the same time while saving you $$$$.$$ on upgrades that won't add up to much in the long run. IMHO

Go all out until you're convinced you are about to chuck part of a lung and then ride easy for awhile until your heart rate recovers to a reasonable level, and then before you get too comfortable repeat the process.

That's what I always do and works great if you ride a min of 3 day's a week. If you have the time then 3 day's on 1 or 2 off to heal a bit, and 3 on again. But it will very by the person no doubt.

road cycling has helped me quite a bit with overall cardio, along with running. improving specifically mtb skills id repeat what others said riding with guys faster with you and take positives out of small victories. also dont fear crashing every now and then, if you dont feel a bit squirrely sometimes you probably arent pushing yourself.

#1. and within reach- not to be the caboose on every goup ride. Riding with faster guys has been revolutionary to my pace.

#2. Improve skills- there are four spots on my most frequently ridden trail that I want to conquer for starters. There is a steep hairpin turn, a rocky/shale steep S- turn, and two chunky rock entrances to singletrack. I want to be able to ride them all both up and down without dabbing.

#3. Lose 13 more pounds-I've lost 23 lb already. But truthfully, the weight loss is secondary, except inasmuch as a lighter body is a hell of a lot easier to pedal around.

The word "fun" doesn't begin to explain how I feel when I'm mountain biking.

#1. and within reach- not to be the caboose on every goup ride. Riding with faster guys has been revolutionary to my pace.

#2. Improve skills- there are four spots on my most frequently ridden trail that I want to conquer for starters. There is a steep hairpin turn, a rocky/shale steep S- turn, and two chunky rock entrances to singletrack. I want to be able to ride them all both up and down without dabbing.

#3. Lose 13 more pounds-I've lost 23 lb already. But truthfully, the weight loss is secondary, except inasmuch as a lighter body is a hell of a lot easier to pedal around.

The word "fun" doesn't begin to explain how I feel when I'm mountain biking.

1. Your 1.6 mile loop may be too short. If you can go to a nearby trail that offer 2-3 miles climb to start. This would really teach you to embrace the pain. Oh the pain!, have fun.

2. Dedicate a day or two for the trouble spot. Clean it one by one, go back and do it again and again til you feel comfortable. Pic would help us help you. Here are some of the skill needed to defeat those technical challenge. I think the steep hairpin turn you mentioned is called switchback, watch the vid. http://forums.mtbr.com/groups/t-w-o-...kills-link-11/

3. Wow, keep up the good work, it helps being on the bike and keep putting on base miles. The next thing you know you'd still be complaining about the pain, but at much higher speed It'd never be less painful, just faster.

PixieChik, don't worry about improving your time everytime you ride. Work on clearing the tech sections, find the right line and gear combo, learn the trail, know every bad turn before you get there. Try using a smaller gear to build leg strength. If you are really green, look further down the trail, don't look directly in front of your wheel. Your bike will go where your eyes point it.
Lastly, try adjusting your rear brake lever so your brake is not so "grabby". Your fronts are for stopping, the rear is for scrubbing speed. This will help you carry more speed into turns.

Enjoy it

Riding isn't meant to be pure performance, if you just wanted to get stronger you just could ride an exercise bike. Pick different routes while your training, this will 1. keep you from getting bored of the same scenery and challenges and 2. challenge you in different ways which will strengthen you technique in all areas of riding. I suggest riding road which emphasizes on speed, cardio and smoothness as well as trail which emphasizes on strength, maneuvering and again cardio.

Also pay attention to the way you ride. You can wear yourself out in the first few minutes and have a very slow run. A mid speed the whole run is better than fast the first half and wishing you could be done the second half. Use your gearing, don't pay attention to output (moving speed) but instead input (your peddling). You want to be peddling around a consistent 60 (+-10) rpm in a comfortable gear. This will use your slow twitch muscles which allow for endurance. Peddling to hard or fast will use fast twitch muscles which although allowing for a quick burst of power will wear you out and leave you slow for the rest of the run. If you keep your muscles in their peak range at all times (utilizing your gearing) you will see maximum performance and better times.

I hope that helps, enjoy riding.

Also many articles can be Googled on skills such as shifting, cornering, breaking, climbing, descending, counter steer, etc

Riding more is key.
Singletrack on the weekends really doesn't provide enough consistent exercise/activity to improve quickly. Try to ride singletrack at least twice a week (three times would be great).

Try to get some urban rides in around town on other days, and make it aggressive - hop curbs, hit loading ramps, down stairs - in other words don't just push your legs - get upper body/core involved.

Find what your weak skills are and practice. Having a hard time popping the rear wheel? Set up a 4x4 segment in a parking lot and practice. Check youtube for skills & technique videos if you're not sure you're doing something right.

Put in some road miles when you can't get mtb - builds cardio and quads (= good).

1. Ignore any advice about the type of bike SS/HT/FS...blah blah blah
Rationale: Ride what you have. You can improve by riding what you have and gaining familiarity with the bike you own. Given a constant bike, you can still measure improvement, so for the general purpose of getting better, any bike will do.

2. Focus on specific aspects of riding, and train in pieces
Rationale: Have you ever played Gran Turismo racing? One of the first things you need to do is get your licenses in order. To do this, you work on a small set of skills repeatedly to improve on each one separately. In MTBing, pumping, turning, etc. can all be worked on in smaller pieces. you may need to separate fitness from skills, so taking plenty of breaks isn't a bad idea. This is how you learn virtually any sport. Somehow when it comes to biking, many get into the straight "game" mode and forget about the "practice" it takes to play the game.

3. Build fitness
Rationale: If you are racing the clock, maintenance of stamina is key. It is remarkable how much your time changes if you are on the side of the trail sucking wind. The Tortoise and the Hare has some good life lessons.

4. Keep a log
Rationale: Track variables such as weight, perceived wellness before the ride, and times. Many of the predictors of your time may not be your pure skill improvement. Simply feeling flat or heavy legged will slow you down considerably. It may tell you it is time to rest or do something different.

5. Mix it up and have fun.
Rationale: Unless you are trying to race for a living, never stop enjoying the riding. If you find you are in a rut, mix it up (road, new trails, etc). If you find yourself dragging, you could be bored.

6. Measure your contentment and address areas you are not happy with.
Rationale: This goes back to #2 above (and other advice given here). Understanding what aspects you want to improve is essential to improving them. You could identify a coach or trainer to watch you ride and they might be able to spot areas you could improve. Riding with a few other riders might give you ideas of areas you gain (and loose) speed. Where you are loosing time might be areas to train more.

Naa, if you suck wind you keep riding while you catch your breath. the key is to push it hard and back off before you have to stop the bike. Like blasting up a hill full out then
taking it down some when you hit the flat or downgrade at the top. A 1.6 mile loop is
too short imo. I'm used to a 10 mile loop, so a 1.6 mile run for me would be a warmup.
We all like it different though.

Hey, all you experience riders! Share your most helpful tip(s) to help me get better.

I have some ideas. For instance, I've mapped a 1.6 mile "sprint" loop with a challenging hill and a rocky downhill. Today I measured my times for a few laps, and I plan to spend a couple of days a week racing myself.

I'm looking into arranging to invite a coach to lead a skills clinic in my area next summer.

Edited to delete my lame-o personal goals. This should be a more universally helpful thread. I know some of you guys are holding out your most useful tips. Thanks to those willing to divulge.

Originally Posted by PixieChik

This forum is the best. Thanks for all the ideas and pointers.

My goals:

#1. and within reach- not to be the caboose on every goup ride. Riding with faster guys has been revolutionary to my pace.

#2. Improve skills- there are four spots on my most frequently ridden trail that I want to conquer for starters. There is a steep hairpin turn, a rocky/shale steep S- turn, and two chunky rock entrances to singletrack. I want to be able to ride them all both up and down without dabbing.

#3. Lose 13 more pounds-I've lost 23 lb already. But truthfully, the weight loss is secondary, except inasmuch as a lighter body is a hell of a lot easier to pedal around.

The word "fun" doesn't begin to explain how I feel when I'm mountain biking.

Now we are getting down to the meat of what you are looking for.

Sounds like #1 is fitness.
Fitness is actually pretty easy give advice for. This comes down to base miles and training. Ride more is true, but ride hard to get your heart rate up. You need aerobic endurance and leg strength. One good way to do this on the roads. Pick a road loop and just hammer out the miles. Ride as hard as you can for 45 minutes. A bike computer is good see your speed and track the time. These base mile are the foundation for everything else.

#2 is technical. General fitness can help here as you will arrive less tired and with more capacity to do technical moves. Unfortunately I don't know that I can tell you in words how to handle these technical bits.

I have noticed the biggest help after going to the gym consistently a few days a week for 3 months. I mainly did it just to lose weight but it allows me to ride harder, longer and recover quicker. I am not going to repeat what everyone else is saying but I add the weight training at a gym.

2. Focus on specific aspects of riding, and train in pieces
Rationale: Have you ever played Gran Turismo racing? One of the first things you need to do is get your licenses in order. To do this, you work on a small set of skills repeatedly to improve on each one separately. In MTBing, pumping, turning, etc. can all be worked on in smaller pieces. you may need to separate fitness from skills, so taking plenty of breaks isn't a bad idea. This is how you learn virtually any sport. Somehow when it comes to biking, many get into the straight "game" mode and forget about the "practice" it takes to play the game.

alright here you are

1 Ride.

There is no right/wrong way to ride a bike. 50 different people can take 50 different lines and move at the exact same speed. 50 people can climb in several different gear ratios and get to the top at the same speed.

2 Push.

It is going to burn. Let it. Get stronger go faster. Where to focus, wherever you get stronger there will be some advantage. Vary how you ride, long and slow, short and fast, at some point it will be advantageous. Pedal how fast/hard works for you.

3 Enjoy it. (it being riding all out)

Keep riding to the top of your ability, and after a while you will look back and see the top of your ability is higher than it used to be. If you try to measure progress over a day you will not see any, it is there but you will not see it. It is like trying to measure snowfall on the ground after only a minute of it snowing.

(There are some great tips stated earlier to do these things. Eg, riding with people faster than you, riding self time trials, riding endurance, etc etc etc.)

4 Don't doubt. The fastest start as the slowest and eventually, again become the slowest.
(or jump off a cliff)

As others before me have mentioned...riding a road bike helps a lot. I had been riding mountain-type bikes since I was 2, and in high school I got on a road bike for a few days each week in the spring, and it made a massive difference in my overall fitness. Plus road bikes are bats-outta-hell fast on hills (my 40 mph personal record was set on my old Hardrock, though...).

Regardless of the bike you have, ride on the road. Find a hilly loop, and run laps.

Ride with others who are better/more advanced than you. They will push you to keep up, and offer helpful technical advice: drop your heels some, change gears sooner, etc.

You will fall. Allow yourself the chance to fall. It hurts, it's miserable, no one likes to, but falling is what shows us the limits of our bikes and our bodies. When it happens, take a moment, think about why you fell, and store that bit of information away for future use. I learned how to corner better by eating bark dust, gravel, pavement, and dirt

Not sure where you live, but find the longest, steepest hill in your area, and grind up it once or twice a week. Focus not just on times but also body position and gearing.

Do core strengthening workouts. Your legs, arms, and cardio endurance will build with time on the bike...the core is often neglected, and can lead to a myriad of problems.

I am definitely not an expert but here are a few tips that I can share:

1. Purchase and use a bike computer, Garmin or good phone app to keep track of your progress. Garmins have something called "virtual partner" that allows you to compete against yourself in real time. I believe virtual partner is the best way to get into "biking" shape because it can really provide that push to ride just a little bit harder.

2. Learn to pedal around 80-100RPM. This is arguably considered the most efficient range. Some bike computers, including most Garmins, have cadence sensors that will display your cadence in real time.

3. Practice being proactive versus reactive with your shifting.

4. You can learn to manual. I have only ridden for 3 years now and I am just now starting to learn this trick. Here is a good website with videos.